Where are first year clinical placements?

• In first year, care is focused on the older adult in the long-term care setting

When will I be doing hospital/acute care placements?

• Your first acute care placement will occur in N280 in your first term of second year

What do I do in N180?

• N180 gives students the opportunity to ease into clinical practice. Students will do a shadow shift with a second or third year student nurse, a presentation on hand-washing at local elementary schools, and interview an older adult in the independent living setting. 

I feel out of place in clinicals

• It is totally normal to feel out of place in first year, but the skills that you learn are very important and will be applicable throughout all years of nursing

What am I allowed to do as a first year?

• In N181, students are allowed to do personal care and assessment skills. In N190 (CPE 1), students will be able to administer medications (oral, ophthalmic, rectal, vaginal, ear, inhalational, and transdermal)

I don't like clinicals, does that mean I won't be a good nurse?

• Clinicals can often be challenging because they are the intersection between theory and skills. You're practicing on a real person and that can be intimidating. If you don't like clinicals, it doesn't reflect on how good you'll be as an RN. Use your clinical hours as a safe place to mess up and learn what areas of nursing you can improve on.

How many days/hours will I be in clinical per week?

• N181: once a week for 6 hours (shifts are usually scheduled for 0645-1245)

  • Section 1: Tuesdays

  • Section 2: Wednesdays

  • Section 3: Thursdays

  • Section 4: Fridays

• N190/N290 (CPE 1/2): three times a week for 8 hours/day (shifts are usually scheduled for 0645-1445)

  • All sections will be together and you'll either be in clinical Monday-Wednesday or Wednesday-Friday

• N280/N281/N380: twice a week for 6 hours/day (shifts are usually scheduled for 0645-1245 or 1300-1900)

  • Sections 1 & 2: Tuesdays & Wednesdays

  • Sections 3 & 4: Thursdays & Fridays

Will I have the same clinical instructor throughout my time in the program?

• Clinical instructors change each semester, so the instructor that you have for N181 will likely not be your instructor for N190 and so on. 

How many classes will I take in first year?

• Academic Term 1 consists of 7 classes:

  • BIOL 152 - Anatomy & Physiology for Nursing 1 (lecture + lab)

  • ENGL 151 - Academic Reading & Writing

  • N110 - The Profession of Nursing (lecture)

  • N132 - Nurses Promoting Health (lecture)

  • N142 - Nursing Skills & Assessment (lab)

  • N160 - Relational Practice (lecture)

  • N180 - Nursing Practice 1 (practicum)

• Academic Term 2 consists of 6 classes:

  • BIOL 153 - Anatomy & Physiology for Nursing 2 (lecture + lab)

  • IST 120 - Introduction to Indigenous Peoples (lecture)

  • N111 - Discipline of Nursing (lecture)

  • N133 - Health Across the Lifespan (lecture)

  • N143 - Holistic Assessment & Skills (lab)

  • N181 - Nursing Practice 2 (practicum)

Are there any courses I can take before the nursing program to reduce my first-year courseload?

• Yes, you can take your biology, English, and Indigenous classes before you start the nursing program

How do I manage my time with so many classes?

• First year students commonly feel overwhelmed with the heavy courseload, but it's not as bad as you think. Sometimes it can take a little while to figure out study/time management methods that work for you (e.g., keeping a planner, notes, study groups), but once you get the hang of it, it'll feel way less intimidating. 

What happens if I fail a course? Do I get kicked out of the program?

• Students must get a minimum of 60% in each course in order to be able to progress through the nursing program. Failing a class doesn't mean you get kicked out or asked to withdraw entirely. You will be able to take some nursing courses in the next semester but you will not be able to take either lab or clinical classes until you pass the class you fail.

  • For example, if you fail BIOL 152 in semester 1, you can still take N111, N133, and IST 120 in semester 2. However, you will not be able to register in N142 and N181 until the following year. 

How difficult is BIOL 152/153 (A&P)?

• Most students said the most challenging classes of first year is Anatomy & Physiology. There is a lot of memorization required and small details, but it provides a really important foundation for nursing and care of the human body. 

How do I study for BIOL 152/153?

• Review your notes: the biology classes provide students with fill-in-the-blank notes based on the PowerPoint slides and contain all the information you will need for exams.

• Join a study group: get together with some people in your cohort and create a study group. 

• Practice with NSMP Kahoots: the NSMP Education Coordinators have made Kahoot quizzes for the majority of topics covered in biology that is based off questions from previous exams/quizzes

Do I need to buy the textbook for BIOL 152/153?

• Because the majority of testable information is available in PowerPoint notes and lab notes, many students have said that they never even opened the BIOL 152/153 textbook. It is up to the student and how they learn, but most did not find that the textbook was of much use.

What is the difference between BIOL 152/153 and BIOL 252/253?

• BIOL 152/153 is the introduction to anatomy and physiology that goes through each of the body systems to learn about the structure and function of organs, tissues, and systems

• BIOL 252/253 builds on the fundamentals learned in BIOL 152/153 by introducing students to pathophysiological concepts (i.e., diseases and illnesses)

Is pathophysiology more difficult than A&P?

• Some students found A&P harder than patho and others found patho harder than A&P. Tying in past concepts from A&P and applying disease processes can be challenging, but students enjoy the direct application that patho gives to nursing and many of the topics tie in to the ones you learn in N232/N233.

Excel Spreadsheet

• One student said they made an Excel spreadsheet and put all of the required readings in and their links so they can be accessed later since you lose access to them once the course is done.

Readings

• Some students say they didn't bother doing the readings for N111 and they did good in the course. Other students say that the readings for N111 can apply to N341 when you go to UVic in third year. In contrast, N232/233 in third year and N133 in first year have readings that will be very important for learning, so don't skip these readings.

Learn to skim

• Theory and lab classes have a lot of required readings, sometimes over 30 pages of the textbook per week. This is where it becomes important to learn how to skim your textbook for information rather than reading everything word-for-word.

Don't procrastinate

• First year assignments consist mostly of papers and group projects, so don't leave this until the last minute!

A lot of my classmates know what nursing specialty they want to go into already but I don't. Is that a problem?

• Nursing school gives you many opportunities to gain experience in a variety of settings. It's okay if you don't know what specialty you want to pursue yet, especially in first year. The program allows you to find out what you like and what you don't. Sometimes students want to pursue a certain specialty then get experience there and decide they don't like it. 

What types of specialties can I pursue right after graduation?

• Usually, new-grad RNs start their nursing career on general medical-surgical units, but there are a few specialties that one can go into directly after they graduate, including:

  • Pediatrics

  • Maternity 

  • Cardiology

  • Psychiatry

Can I start advanced specialty learning during the BSN program?

• Select students have opportunities in their fourth year to participate in a Learning Pathway. This means that their final preceptorship will be in a certain specialty area they have to apply for. These specialties include:

  • Perioperative (OR)

  • Post-Anesthetic Care Unit (PACU)

  • Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)

  • Emergency (ER)

  • Perinatal (LDR)

What nursing specialties require additional advanced education?

• Once a student has graduated the BSN program and wants to pursue a specialty, they can either fund themselves through a specialty education program or Island Health has sponsored opportunities meaning that they will pay for the student's education and training in return for an 18-month return-of-service. These specialties include:

  • Perioperative (OR)

  • Post-Anesthetic Care Unit (PACU)

  • Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)

  • Emergency (ER)

  • Perinatal (LDR)

  • Critical Care (ICU/HAU/CCU/CVU)

  • Renal/Dialysis

  • Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU)

  • Endoscopy

How many students fail/drop out of the nursing program?

• In one section, 6 out of 40 students were lost after semester 1 (3 due to not passing, 2 dropped out of the program because they felt like it wasn't for them).

Am I able to take the program part-time?

• There are part-time options for the BSN program, but the progression is slower. Depending on your circumstances (e.g., student athlete, parenting conflicts, etc.) you may be able to do the program part-time.